Recommended Care for Extended Use of PPE
Be sure to follow proper donning and doffing instructions
Clean and disinfect the face shields and goggles between uses (after each resident) as follows:
FACE SHIELDS AND GOGGLES
- While wearing gloves, carefully wipe the inside, followed by theoutside of the face shield or goggles using a clean cloth saturated with soap or cleaner wipe.
- Carefully wipe the outsideof the face shield or goggles using a wipe or clean cloth saturated with a disinfectant solution (such as hydrogen peroxide and sanitizer)
- Wipe the outside of face shield or goggles with clean water or alcohol to remove residue.
- Fully dry (air dry or use clean absorbent towels).
- Remove gloves and perform hand hygiene.
*Note: Reusable eye protection must be discarded if it becomes damaged, no longer fits securely, or remains foggy after cleaning.
N95 RESPIRATORS
It is not recommended that you take it upon yourself to extend the use of your N95 respirator. However, given the current status of short supply of equipment, the employer may decide to implement a conventional capacity measures plan as guided by government agencies. Such plans include the allowance of extended use of PPE in extreme circumstances.
Extended use refers to the practice of wearing the same N95 respirator for repeated close contact encounters with several different residents, without removing the respirator between residents, provided confirmed COVID-19 residents have been cohorted and each resident you are caring for has COVID-19.
During extended use of N95 respirators, the maximum recommended extended use period is 8–12 hours.
Respirators should not be worn for multiple work shifts and should not be reused after extended use.
N95 respirators should be removed and discarded before activities such as meals and restroom breaks.
*Note for added protection during extended use of N95 respirators, wear a face mask over the N95 respirator. The face mask should be removed and discarded between residents.
